Daily GK Update 26th September 2017

1. PM Modi Launched 'Saubhagya Scheme'

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana or ‘Saubhagya’, to supply 24/7 electricity supply to poor households.

ii. The government stated that states will be required to complete the household electrification by March 31, 2019. The total outlay for the Saubhagya scheme will be Rs 16,320 crore.

2. PM Narendra Modi forms Economic Advisory Council

i. PM Narendra Modi reconstituted the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to guide him on economic issues and appointed economist Bibek Debroy as its chairman. Debroy is a member of government think tank Niti Aayog.

ii. The council has been defunct since former RBI governor C Rangarajan resigned as its chairman. The four other part-time EAC members are Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy, Ashima Goyal and Ratan Watal.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Rajiv Kumar is the Present Vice-Chairman of NITI Ayog.
• NITI stands for National Institution for Transforming India.

3. Odisha Government Launched ‘Sampurna Yojana’

i. Odisha Government launched ‘Sampurna (Sishu Abond Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakaran Abhijan) Yojna’ scheme for pregnant women, in Odisha. Under the scheme, Odisha government will provide Rs.1,000 as transport cost for pregnant women to travel to the hospital.

ii. The main objective of this scheme is to reduce the death ration of the newborn child and mother mortality rate. Around 7853 villages will be covered from 30 districts of Odisha, under this scheme.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Governor of Odisha is Senayangba Chubatoshi Jamir.
• Chief Minister of Odisha is Naveen Patnaik.

4. New Underground Water Treatment Plant in Agartala

i. In Tripura, a new underground water treatment plant has been commissioned at Sadhutilla in the southern part of Agartala. The plant has fulfilled the need for drinking water free from iron and other contamination.

ii. The plant has started functioning with the supply of quality treated water initially to 565 households through the pipeline. It has the treatment capacity of 4 point 8 million litres per day.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The speciality of the plant is that it would be treating water at higher standards with minimizing turbidity and iron in the water. 
• The built-up cost of this water treatment plant was Rs. 4 crore 99 lakh. 
• It has been funded jointly by the Asian Development Bank with 70% share of assistance and the Union Government with 30 % share of assistance.

5. TRIFED Organised National Workshop on Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest Produce

i. Minister of Tribal Affairs Shri Jual Oram inaugurated the National Workshop organized by TRIFED on “Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produces (MFP) scheme – Taking it to the next level for a Fair and Equitable Deal to the Tribals”.

ii. TRIFED has also signed MoU with Amazon for the marketing of tribal handicrafts scaled-up for the empowerment of tribals.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) came into existence in August 1987 and got registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act 1984.

6. ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission Completes 3 Years in Orbit

i. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) stated that its Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) which has completed three years in its Martian orbit is in good health and continues to work as expected. On the occasion of completion of three years in its Martian orbit released MOM second-year science data from September 24, 2014, to September 23, 2016.

ii. The 450-crore rupees MOM mission aims at studying the Martian surface and mineral composition. It will also scan its atmosphere for methane which is an indicator of life on Mars.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• ISRO had launched the spacecraft on its nine-month-long odyssey on a homegrown PSLV rocket from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on November 5, 2013.
• AS Kiran Kumar is the Present Chairman of ISRO.

7. All About the "Power for All - Saubhagya Scheme"

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana ‘Saubhagya’ to provide electricity connections to over 4 crore families in rural and urban areas by December 2018.

ii. In India, four crore out of 25 crore families do not have power connection even after 70 years of independence. India will achieve the target of power for all by December 2018, while all villages will be electrified by the end of 2017.

Here are things you must know about the Saubhagya Scheme:-

• The Saubhagya scheme basically means Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana,
• It aims to provide access to electricity to all families in India,
• The Saubhagya scheme will provide free electricity connection to poor families of India,
• The total outlay for Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana is pegged at Rs 16,320 crore,
• The Centre will provide largely funds for the scheme to all States/UTs,
• Saubhagya Yojana will give access to electricity to all ‘willing’ households in India.

8. Karnataka Government Launches Vision-2025 Project

i. The Karnataka Government Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has launched 'Vision-2025' project across the state. It aimed at evolving a draft policy for the development of the state in next seven years by seeking the opinion of the public.

ii. Under the project, the government would seek public opinion on how they want their dream state to be in the next seven years. The CM has also launched the website 'www.navakarnataka2025.in'.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Shri Vajubhai Vala is the Present Governor of Karnataka.

9. ADB Lowers India Growth Forecast for this Fiscal

i. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has downgraded India’s growth projection to 7 percent for the current fiscal while lowering its forecast for the next financial year as well.

ii. India’s GDP growth is downgraded to 7 percent in the financial year 2017-18, a 0.4 percentage point drop from the April forecast. In the financial year 2018-19, the forecast is adjusted down to 7.4 percent, from 7.6 percent, according to the Asian Development Outlook 2017 update.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines.
• Takehiko Nakao is the President of ADB.

10. BDL Signs Contract for Supply of MRSAM to Indian Army

i. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has signed a contract with Research Centre Imarat (RCI) for  the supply of Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) to Indian Army.

ii. The contract was signed to facilitate production, deliveries and product support of MRSAM system for the Indian Army.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• V. Udaya Bhaskar is the Present CMD of BDL.
• BDL is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana.

11. Shashi Shankar appointed CMD of ONGC 

i. Shashi Shankar was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of India's biggest oil and gas producer ONGC.

ii. Shankar, at present director (technical and field services), ONGC, will take over the charge as CMD from October 1. He will replace Dinesh K Sarraf. Mr Shankar will have a nearly four-year term until March 2021. 

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• ONGC stands for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited.

12. Two Indians on Fortune's List of 'Most Powerful Women in International Business'

i. Two Indian women have featured on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in business outside the US. Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar was ranked fifth and Managing Director and CEO of Axis Bank Shikha Sharma was ranked at 21.

ii. Group Executive Chairman of Spain's Banco Santander Ana Botín topped the list. The 50 global businesswomen represent 17 countries and many industries.

iii. Top three Most Powerful Women in business in the List are-

1. Ana Botin (Spain)

2. Emma Walmsley (UK)

3. Isabelle Kocher (France).

13. SBI Launches Chatbot to Help Customers in Banking Activities

i. Artificial intelligence banking platform Payjo has launched an AI-powered chat assistant for State Bank of India to addresses customer enquiries. 

ii. The chat assistant, known as SBI Intelligent Assistant, or SIA, will help customers with everyday banking tasks just like a bank representative 

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Arundhati Bhattacharya is currently the Chairman of the State Bank of India.
• Headquarter of SBI is in Mumbai.
• Founder and CEO of Payjo Srinivas Njay.

14. SBI Eases Minimum Balance Rules On Savings Accounts

i. State Bank of India lowered the Minimum Average Monthly Balance (MAB) requirement in a savings account to Rs 3,000 from Rs 5,000 and also revised downwards penalties for not maintaining such a balance.

ii. The public sector lender also decided to exempt pensioners, beneficiaries of social benefits from government and minors from the requirement of minimum balance in the savings account.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• Arundhati Bhattacharya is currently the Chairman of the State Bank of India. 
• Headquarter of SBI is in Mumbai.

15. ICC Announces Major Changes in Cricket Rules

i. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced several changes to the existing template of how the sport of cricket is played. All the new rules will be implemented from September 28.  The new rules incorporate bat thickness, player conduct, DRS, run outs and catches.

ii. Here are the major excerpts from the release:

1. The restriction on the length and width of bats remain unchanged but the thickness of the edges can’t be more than 40mm and the overall depth can be 67 mm at the most.

2. In a new playing condition pertaining to players’ conduct, a player can now be sent off the field for the rest of the match for any serious misconduct, meaning it will apply to Level 4 offences while the Level 1 to 3 offences will continue to be dealt with under the ICC Code of Conduct.

3. The above changes will be applicable across all formats, as will be a change in the DRS rules by which a review will now not be lost in case of a decision that remains unchanged, solely as the result of an ‘umpire’s call’. The DRS will now also be allowed to be used in T20Is.

4. An important change with respect to run outs is that if a batsman is running or diving towards the crease with forward momentum, and has grounded his/her bat behind the popping crease but subsequently has lost contact with the ground at the time of the wickets being put down, the batsman will not be run out.

5. For boundary catches, airborne fielders making their first contact with the ball will need to have taken off from within the boundary, otherwise, a boundary will be scored. Also, a batsman can now be out caught, stumped or run out even if the ball bounces off the helmet worn by a fielder or wicket-keeper.

16. Lakshmanan Wins 5,000m gold in Athletics Nationals

i. Reigning Asian champion Govindan Lakshmanan of Services cruised to victory in the men’s 5000-metre race on the opening day of the 57th National Open Athletics Championships at the Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

ii. Lakshmanan has recently won gold in the 3,000m event at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

Important Takeaways from Above News-

• In the 5000m women’s race, L Surya won Gold.